


Class Reunion of the Millennium

by MagnusPrime12



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Class reunion, F/M, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Golden Deer Route Spoilers, Five Years Later, Fluff, Gen, More Chapters to Come, Mostly Fun Character Stuff, Post-Golden Deer Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Seriously Loads of Banter, lots of banter, making it up as I go, no beta we die like Glenn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-03
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-02-19 02:11:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22803610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagnusPrime12/pseuds/MagnusPrime12
Summary: Five years after Byleth’s return, the War of Deer and Eagle is over. The Empire has fallen and those who slither in the dark are scattered. With peace returning at last, the Class of 1180 returns to the newly restored Gareg Mach to finally celebrate the Millennium Festival and catch up with old friends.
Relationships: Dorothea Arnault/Lorenz Hellman Gloucester, Hilda Valentine Goneril/Ignatz Victor, Ingrid Brandl Galatea/Claude von Riegan, Linhardt von Hevring/Lysithea von Ordelia, Manuela Casagranda/Hanneman von Essar, Marianne von Edmund/My Unit | Byleth, Raphael Kirsten/Bernadetta von Varley
Comments: 1
Kudos: 28





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! This all sprung from a little thought I had on what a class reunion for the students would look like. So, let’s set up some notes:
> 
> 1) This is based off of my Verdant Wind playthrough. It will be mostly canon compliant aside from one deviation in that Flayn is still living in Gareg Mach. Her just disappearing while Seteth stays is dumb, and I’m not going along with it.  
> 2) Everything is based on the endings I got, which are not necessarily the endings I wanted. I’m doing this to challenge myself to find creative ways to work within constraints. This means that there are some ships I didn’t intend to get in here, but are still here. It also means that some ships I wanted but didn’t get won’t be in here.  
> 3) Have Fun!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which our heroes have an unexpected encounter.

From out of nowhere an arrow struck Byleth in his left shoulder, sending a jolt of pain through his body. “Augh!” he exclaimed, shifting back in his saddle. The arrow had come from directly in front of his horse, flying out of a large bush behind a signpost marking a fork in the road that traveled through this large forest. At his right side his wife, Marianne, rushed her horse over to him.

“Byleth!” she shouted as she pulled Dorte alongside him. He glanced at her and saw she was already preparing a healing spell. The wind bristled harshly against his wound, but his wife’s work was already easing the pain. He turned his attention back to the bush.

“You idiot, that was supposed to be a warning shot!” a voice called out from the bush.

“Sorry boss,” another voice said. “I guess I got lucky!”

“Any more of your ‘luck’, and we’ll be hanged for murder!” the first voice shouted in exasperation. “Now just get out there and look intimidating!”

“Sure thing, boss!” the second voice replied cheerfully.

Byleth and Marianne exchanged glances. It was obvious that whoever these bandits were, they weren’t professionals. Even without their armor or bodyguards, if they played their cards right, they might be able to make it out of this unharmed. Well, mostly unharmed, anyways.

“Keep your hands where we can see them!” the first voice said as two figures stepped out from the dense foliage. The left one was short and pudgy, his hair already balding. He held a bow in his arm, an arrow pointed at Byleth. The right one was long and lean, and carried a blade that clearly needed some work done. Still, the weapon could kill easily enough if Byleth wasn’t careful. He would have to play this smart.

“It’s alright” he said as he raised his arms and nodded to Marianne to do the same. “We’ll cooperate.”

“Of course you will.” The lean one said with a smirk. “Now, hand over your weapons.”

Byleth slowly reached down and unstrapped his sword from the saddle. The rustle of leather and light clink of metal on his right told him Marianne had done the same. This was an obstacle he had expected. The two would have to be great fools indeed to try robbing them while they still had their weapons.

“Alright, let’s see you empty your saddle bags.” the lean one said.

Byleth fought to keep his surprise hidden. He had been right, these were clearly amateurs. He’d expected the lean one to come over and confiscate their weapons, possibly even take Marianne hostage, but instead he continued to stand there. Still, with the stout one poised to fire his arrow it was best to keep playing along for now.

Byleth and Marianne began emptying their bags of their contents. Byleth kept an eye on the two bandits, tracking their movements. He knew Marianne would’ve already been preparing a spell to fend off their assailants, but she would need about two seconds to pull it off. Two seconds during which the stout one’s arrow could kill one of them. What they needed was a distraction...

“So I’m guessing this is your first time?” Byleth asked.

“First time what?” the stout one asked back.

“Don’t talk to them!” the lean one shouted with intense exasperation. “Just keep your arrow trained and stay silent!”

“I meant your first time robbing people.” Byleth said, ignoring the lean one. “I don’t wish to sound condescending, but it seems like you went out here without a plan.”

“What’s to plan?” the stout one asked. “We find some travelers, we take their money, and we go home. Seems simple enough to me.”

“Sure, but how are you going to carry it all?” Byleth questioned. “You don’t have any bags on you, and you don’t have horses. You’ll probably only be able to carry a quarter of our belongings with you, and that’s a generous estimate.”

The stout one began to look puzzled. He turned his head to his companion and asked “Is that right, George?”

The lean one’s face turned as red as an erupting volcano. “For the love of Seiros, you imbecile!” he shouted again. “I told you a hundred times not to use my real name in front of the marks!

“But is it true?” the stout one insisted. “How are we supposed to get rich if we can’t bring the stuff with us?”

“I- You- Ugh!” George stammered out, clearly at his wits end. “We were never going to take everything they had, only the most valuable stuff. The rest we leave.”

“But how am I supposed to carry the stuff if I’m to keep an arrow on ‘em at all times like you told me?”

A gust of wind blew against Byleth’s back as he saw the tables turning. Now it was time for the coup de grace.

“Seems your friend George there was trying to cut you out of the deal.” Byleth said. “Guess that’s three things you failed to consider.”

Now the stout one was fuming. “Is that true George?” he said, lowering his bow as he turned to face his partner. “Were you going to leave me high and dry while you took all the money?”

“What?!” George shrieked. “That’s absurd! For once in your life, Eustace, use your brain!”

The stout man’s face hardened. “And there you go using my real name after the big deal you made of me usin’ yours! You’re trying to sell me out, aren’t you?” At that last sentence, Eustace raised his bow again. But this time, it wasn’t pointed at Byleth or Marianne. Now it was pointed at George.

“Woah woah Eustace, now hold on!” George said in a much more shaky voice than he had previously had. “Let’s be reasonable about this, alright?! We’re partners, remember? We need each other!”

Eustace looked uncertain. “And we split the money evenly, right?” he asked.

“Of course we will.” George agreed nervously. “It never crossed my mind to try and cheat you.”

Byleth could tell from George’s tone that that was a bald-faced lie, but Eustace clearly wasn’t so sharp. He lowered his bow and said “Alright. Let’s finish this and get our reward.”

Marianne threw a questioning glance at Byleth, wordlessly asking _Now?_ Byleth shook his head a fraction of an inch, indicating _Not yet._

“There’s just one thing I’m wondering.” Eustace said. He turned back to Byleth and Marianne. “What was the other thing we didn’t consider?”

Byleth gave a wicked smile and said “Whether or not we have backup.” in a not-too smug tone.

George laughed. “Right, backup. I can hear a horse coming from a mile away. There aren’t any for miles.”

“True,” Byleth said. “But I never said they arrived on horses.”

Suddenly two arrows flew out from behind Byleth, heading straight towards George. They struck his leggings, pinning him in place. A thunderous roar rang out from the forest, followed by the emergence of a brilliantly white wyvern and equally striking horned pegasus.

As Byleth had expected, the wyvern was being ridden by a tall, tanned man with a bow. The pegasus was commanded by a lean, fair woman with bright golden hair on her head and a lance gripped in her right hand. Claude and Ingrid, just as Byleth had expected. And right on time.

Seeing the opportunity, Marianne quickly summoned “Cutting Gale!” and a disc of concentrated wind shot straight at Eustace.

Frozen in terror, the short thug trembled as the spell struck its intended target. Not Eustace, as he had clearly feared, but at his bow. The top snapped off, and the string went with it.

With one for effectively disarmed, Byleth turned his attention to the other. He had already dismounted his horse while Marianne had used her spell, and quickly snapped up his sword. It was an ordinary weapon rather than his typical Sword of the Creator, but he was still adept with it. He rushed over to the still-pinned George. With a snap of his sword, Byleth disarmed the second opponent. He gave a quick jab with his free hand, and George fell to the ground.

Then Claude jumped off his wyvern and landed right next to Byleth. He drew back another arrow, and George hung his head in defeat. Byleth glanced to his left and saw that Ingrid had Eustace backed up towards a tree with her lance. The fight was over.

“Nice work, Teach. And here I was worried you might have gotten rusty after a couple years sitting on a throne.” Claude said amiably. His tone became a touch more solemn when he added “Now what should we do with these two?”

“Please, don’t kill us!” Eustace began sobbing. “We’re really sorry, aren’t we George?”

“Uh, yes! Yes we are!” George stumbled out. “Please, we’ll do anything if you let us live!”

“Your call, Teach.” Claude said. “What should we do with these merciless vagabonds?”

Byleth considered the matter. While it was true that these two had threatened to kill him and, more importantly, his wife. Still, they were ultimately a minor nuisance, and he and Marianne could probably have taken them down even without Claude and Ingrid’s help. Besides, odds were that these were just two down-on-their-luck men who had become desperate for any way to make money.

“We’ll take them with us to Gareg Mach.” he said at last. “I’m sure Seteth could use some extra hands, especially since these two are going to work for free.”

George raised an eyebrow in confusion. “You’re going to have the church sentence us to community service?” he asked.

Byleth smiled wickedly again. “No need,” he said. “Your King has already sentenced you.”

Eustace looked puzzled, but George’s face went white with terror. “Y-you m-m-mean,” he stammered, “we just tried to rob the king?”

“And threatened to kill him too.” Claude confirmed. “Not your brightest move. Though admittedly it would be hard to recognize him undercover like this.”

Ingrid walked Eustace over and grabbed some rope from her bags. “Oh, that’s why you’re dressed as commoners!” she said as she slid down from her pegasus and began binding Eustace and George. “And why we came alone with normal weapons.” Marianne affirmed. “We were hoping that we could get here more quickly if we didn’t bring an entourage.”

“Obviously not my greatest plan,” Byleth admitted sheepishly. “Luckily you two were nearby.”

“Yep, I do have a knack for showing up in the nick of time.” Claude said. “And hey, look how well this fits! When we first met you rescued me from bandits, and now here I am rescuing you from them!”

“Don’t go getting a swelled head about it, dear.” Ingrid admonished Claude. “I’m sure they could have figured out a way to save themselves if they had needed to.”

“Fine, fine.” Claude pouted. “Well then, shall we get going? There’s a lot to get done for the Millennium Festival.”

“Yes, I think we’ll be off.” Byleth said. Then he motioned to the captive would-be thieves and said “Alright you two, let’s get moving.”

Eustace responded immediately “Yes, Your Highness!”

“It’s Your Majesty, you idiot!” George scolded.

“Oh, like you would know.” Eustace sassed back. “You couldn’t even tell that was the King and Queen we were robbing!”

“Neither could you, you half-wit!”

“Well at least I didn’t get my trousers torn!”

The bickering between the two amused the other four travelers all the way to Gareg Mach.


	2. Chatty First Arrivals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which our heroes return to Gareg Mach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it took longer than I hoped, but the second chapter is finally here! Enjoy!

The splendor of the restored monastery left its four former residents awestruck upon their first sight of it. Gareg Mach hadn’t simply been rebuilt, it had been reinforced and expanded. The holy site looked simultaneously stronger and more beautiful than ever.

“It’s amazing!” Marianne exclaimed.

“You’ve got to give Seteth credit.” Claude said. “He’s made incredible progress. Though given how stubborn he is, I probably shouldn’t be surprised.”

“He’s a tough one.” Byleth agreed. “Given the stories around Saint Cichol he’d have to be.”

“Cichol’s Crest is a pretty potent one.” Claude agreed. “Still, I’m pretty sure Seteth’s stubbornness is all his own.” He gave a Byleth a knowing wink.

“Speaking of Seteth,” Byleth said, “we should probably bring these two to see him. I’m sure he’ll have something to say about two bandits operating so close to the monastery on the cusp of the Millennium Festival.”

“Please, don’t hang us!” Eustace begged pathetically. “We promise we won’t hurt anyone ever again! We just needed the money, honest!”

“If you were truly honest you wouldn’t have turned to thieving.” Ingrid pointed out. “Still, I suppose I shouldn’t judge too harshly. One of my best friends was a former thief after all.”

“Speaking of which, do you know if Ashe is coming to the Festival?” Marianne asked.

“Unfortunately he won’t be here.” Ingrid said. Her brow furrowed as she continued, “It seems that Sylvain recently angered a major noble by running off on his daughter, and Ashe is helping him smooth things over.”

“That definitely sounds like those two.” Claude said. “It’s a shame they won’t be here though. It would have been great to get everyone back together.”

“It wouldn’t have happened anyway.” Byleth lamented. “I lost contact with Felix, Catherine and Shamir a couple years ago. They’re probably off working as mercenaries now.”

“Ah,” Claude said. “What about Leonie? I’ve gotten occasional letters from her; has she been keeping in contact with you?”

“She’s definitely coming.” Byleth confirmed. “She sent me a letter recently. She almost had to miss it for a job, but she just managed to wrap it up in time.”

“Good. I would hate for any of the Golden Deer to miss this one.” Claude said.

“Technically we’re all Golden Deer, dear.” Ingrid reminded him.

“You know what I mean.” Claude said as he rolled his eyes.

“The others are all coming.” Marianne said. “Hilda and I have been keeping regular contact, and Raphael, Lysithea, and Ignatz all confirmed it too.”

“And there’s no way Lorenz would miss this one.” Byleth pointed out.

Claude nodded in agreement. “A giant spectacle with the biggest gathering of nobility in the region? How could he miss it? Of course, he had already told me he was coming. And Dorothea is going with him.”

“Oh, so that’s progressing.” Marianne said. “I do hope they’ll marry some day.”

“I’m sure it will happen eventually.” Claude said. “Sometimes these things take time. We can’t all know immediately like you and Teach after all.”

Byleth could see his wife blushing, and felt his own cheeks getting a bit hotter as well. Still, he wasn’t about to let this slide. “Didn’t you and Ingrid get married right after you returned to Almyra?” he countered.

“Heh heh, fair enough.” Claude laughed.

“I still wish you had invited us to the wedding.” Marianne said. “You’re two of our best friends, we should have been there.”

“Sorry, it was kind of an impromptu thing.” Ingrid said. “Almyran weddings are done a lot more quickly than in Fodlan.”

“Still, actively seeking to spend time with large groups of people? Dorte, your friend’s come a long way.” Claude said.

Marianne blushed again. “Well, I had a lot of help.” she said. “You, Byleth, and the others all helped make it possible.”

“Yes, but the hard part was all you.” Byleth said. “Don’t ever forget that.”

The most gentle, beautiful smile he had ever seen flashed across her face. “I won’t.” she said. “And if I ever do, I’ll always have you to remind me.”

“Ugh, we get it, you love each other.” George complained. “Are you always this cloying?”

“I’m afraid the Professor and Marianne have always been like this.” Claude confirmed. “Still, I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you. You only have to listen to it until we get to the monastery. We have to listen to it for the rest of our lives.”

“Just as we have to listen to your and Ingrid’s lover’s spats.” Byleth shot back.

“Hey, it could be worse!” Claude said, feigning offense. “At least we’re not Manuela and Hanneman.”

“No, but you’re pretty close.” Byleth said.

Claude clutched his hand to his heart and said “You wound me.”

“Sometimes the truth hurts.” Byleth said without an ounce of restraint.

Ingrid asked with mild exasperation “Are you two done yet? We’re almost there.”

“Hey, if you didn’t want witty banter in your life you shouldn’t have married me.” Claude said.

“Well, you’re certainly providing half of the wit in this conversation.” Ingrid replied.

“Ha! We got you in on it too!” Claude said gleefully. “I’m so happy that I can’t even be mad about that crack!”

Byleth and Marianne exchanged knowing glances. Claude and Ingrid might bicker incessantly, but deep down there wasn’t anyone else they’d rather be with.

The group reached the village at the outskirts of the monastery. A few of the villagers murmured in awe about the royalty in their midst, but most carried on with their work. The decorations were nearly complete, but for such a grand occasion the people would insist that everything be perfect.

As they passed through, Claude asked “So Teach, level with me. How _did_ you know we were nearby when these amateurs were trying to corner you?”

“The wind.” Byleth answered. “The wind had been blowing against us all day, but then a gust from your wings hit us from behind. After all the times I felt it during the war there was no way I’d mistake it for anything else.”

“Ah. It’s a good thing we happened to be flying close by then. We heard your screams and checked out what was happening from above. From there, it was just about lining up the perfect shot.”

Byleth nodded and said “I’m glad you two have been keeping in practice. I’d hate to think those skills I taught you were going to waste.”

Marianne shook her head and said “Personally I would rather not have to use our combat skills again. Things would be much better if we could all live in peace.”

“Would that we could,” Ingrid said in a melancholic tone, “but in this world violence is inevitable. We must be prepared to protect those we love.”

“True enough,” Byleth said. “Still, I wouldn’t complain if you never had to use my combat teachings in the field again. Training is good, but Fodlan has seen enough conflict.”

“Well this conversation turned dour.” Claude said. “Let’s all remember the reason we’re here. We did win the war, and so far we’ve been winning the peace. We’ve worked hard, now let’s enjoy the fruits of our labor for a bit.”

They reached the entrance to the monastery a few minutes later. Seteth stood at the mouth of the gate, his face alight with joy.

“Welcome back, my friends. It is good to see you again.” he said warmly. His eyes wandered to the two prisoners before asking “And who are these two?”

“We were waylaid by these would-be thieves on our way here.” Byleth said. “They struck me with an arrow and threatened to kill me and my wife.”

“A most grievous offense.” Seteth said. “Threatening the king is a capital crime. How would you like us to proceed?”

Byleth looked at the two criminals. Both were trembling in fear. It was clear that they expected to be executed for their crimes, and as king Byleth would be well within his rights to do so. And yet...

“I have a proposal.” Byleth finally answered. “This crime was committed within the territory of Gareg Mach, and upon the Goddess’ vessel. As such, these two shall repay their debt by serving the church for a minimum of ten years, with the possibility of early parole for good behavior.”

A silence blanketed the group like the first snow of the year. Ingrid’s eyes were wide in surprise, and Seteth’s were close behind. But no one was more surprised than Eustace and George, whose mouths were hanging open.

Claude and Marianne, however, didn’t seem fazed. In fact, Marianne was smiling. Of course she had probably known what he would say before he said it. Claude might have as well, but he would never admit it.

When Seteth finally regained his composure he responded “Very well. We shall see to it that these two carry out their sentence here. I will have a cell prepared for them.”

“Oh, and one more thing,” Byleth added. “While outside their cell these two are to remain shackled to each other. We wouldn’t want them running off, now would we?”

Seteth raised an eyebrow, but nodded. “Alright then. I shall take these two and begin the preparations. In the meantime, our dining hall is open. I imagine you all could use a good meal after your adventure today.”

“I certainly won’t say no to that.” Claude said. “Rescuing these two works up an appetite.”

“Very well then. I shall take my leave.” Seteth said as he walked behind the two prisoners and began pushing them forward.

The quartet turned and began making their way to the dining hall. “That was very merciful of you, Professor.” Ingrid said. “But why did you ask Seteth to chain them together?”

Byleth smiled wolfishly. “You saw how they bickered with each other. What greater punishment could I inflict on them than forcing them to stay together?”

The rest of the group laughed as they continued the walk to the dining hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, we’ve finally reached Gareg Mach. Next time we’ll meet some more old friends and see just what everyone’s been up to.


End file.
